Scammed of 1.5 Billion Won by Fake App Claiming '100% Returns'... Caught in the Act Trying to Collect 'AI Gold Bars'

On a road in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, last month.

Police officers sprint toward a man wearing a black T-shirt.

The moment he tries to flee, they apprehend him on the spot.

He is Mr. A, the domestic general fund management chief of an investment-leading scam syndicate.

The Yuseong Police Station in Daejeon announced that it has apprehended eight members of an investment-leading scam syndicate on charges of impersonating stock experts and pocketing over 1.5 billion won from five victims, including housewives and office workers, and has detained six of them, including Mr. A.

They are accused of deceiving victims out of approximately 1.54 billion won since June through social media and YouTube advertisements by claiming, "You can achieve up to 100% returns if you participate in our investment project."

They made victims install a fake stock trading app, deceived them into believing they were making investment profits, and demanded that the victims prepare physical assets, claiming that direct investment in cash or gold bars was necessary to evade financial authorities' surveillance.

During this process, the collection agents wore forged employee ID cards from overseas securities firms and handed over false investment certificates to reassure the victims.

According to the police investigation, the syndicate operated in a cell-like structure with roles divided centered around an overseas ringleader, including a domestic general fund management chief, money laundering agents, and transport agents.

Having arrested the collection agents first, the police captured circumstances where instructions were given by the higher-ups to "meet another victim and collect gold bars." Using generative AI technology, the police created fake gold bar images that looked like real gold bars and delivered them to the syndicate.

When the syndicate fell for this and appeared at the scene to collect the gold bars, the police apprehended Mr. A on the spot.

Through this process, they also recovered approximately 250 million won in damages, including cash and gold bars.

The police are expanding their investigation by identifying the ringleader and fund transport agents located overseas.

They also urged caution, stating that if someone guarantees high returns and induces app installation or verifies profits in a group chat, it is highly likely to be a scam.

(Reported by Hong Seung-yeon | Video by Kim Jong-tae | Photo courtesy of Daejeon Provincial Police Agency | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.